


Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care Redux

by Whistlesnbells



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Angst, Britta hates her parents but it’s for a good reason, Britta’s just so tired of not being taken seriously, Coming Out, F/F, Lesbian Annie, THEYRE JUST SO CUTE TOGETHER, bisexual Britta, but fluff at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26214304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whistlesnbells/pseuds/Whistlesnbells
Summary: Did it never occur to anyone that Britta probably had a good reason to push her parents away?
Relationships: Annie Edison/Britta Perry
Comments: 3
Kudos: 43





	Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care Redux

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first time ever actually writing a full fic, and I definitely cannot promise that this is well written lmao. But it was more self indulgent than anything, because I just want to see one (1) time where Britta’s struggles aren’t written off as a joke. So, Enjoy!!

Another Annie x Britta S6E4 alternate ending where her car isn’t broken when she leaves her parents

——————-

Britta slammed her car door, stepped on the gas, and sped back to apartment 303. Her face burned hot with anger and her eyes brimmed with tears while she raced away from the shouts of her friends, urging her to just “be reasonable.” _Reasonable, my ass,_ she fumed, _They have no idea who they’re talking to._

Once she reached the apartment, she locked the door, collapsed on the chairs, and turned on the TV. Truth be told, she never watched much TV and she had zero clue what was playing, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was the noise. The noise to drown out the voices of her parents from all those years ago. The screaming and cussing. The insults and manipulation. After all those years of forcing those thoughts to the back of her mind, they suddenly returned with force. The blonde held her knees tightly against her chest while she let a tear fall slowly down her cheek. She waited for her friends to ram down the door asking what was wrong, or what was wrong with her. She waited for hours. But no one came home. For the first time in nearly six years, she felt truly, undoubtedly alone.

———

It was nearly ten thirty at night, and Annie was unlocking the door to her apartment. The events of the night were admittedly strange, but honestly, what wasn’t a battle when it came to Britta? Her parents were very nice people, and they seemed very accepting at that. She made it seem like dinner and a game of Trouble was a deal with the devil himself. 

Annie walked through the door, expecting to find Britta pouting around, but the apartment was empty. She shrugged it off and hugged Abed goodnight. She went to open the door to her bedroom… and it was stuck. Annie twisted the door handle vigorously. No, it was locked. Britta had barricaded herself in to hide from her friends.  
“BRITTA! I know you’re in there! Get! out!”  
“Sleep on my parent’s guilt couch. You know, since you love them so much.”  
Annie scoffed. “You just have to make a big deal out of everything don’t you. I don’t have the slightest clue why you’re attacking me for being a good friend.”  
Britta slammed the door open. Her eyes were wild with anger as she towered over the brunette.  
“A good. Friend.” Britta practically spat venom at her. “A good friend?”  
Annie shrunk back in fear.  
“Well, I don’t know what a “good friend” is in your perfect little world, but in _real life_ , Annie, good friends don’t **conspire** with their friends’ abusers.”  
“ _Jesus_ , abusers, Britta??? Your parents **love** you!! They went through all this trouble to make sure you were safe and well-off!! Do you know how lucky you are?? Do you _know_ how much I would pay, just to be able to step foot in my family’s house again?? They care about you, even after all the ridiculous shit you put them through. How can you not realize that???”  
Britta only stared at Annie, who was slowly realizing the gravity of what she had just said. She slowly shut the door.  
Annie reached to open it again, maybe to argue. Maybe to apologize. She thought better of herself. “Fine then, be difficult. Cause meaningless problems on purpose. See if I care.”  
“Annie, wait.”  
Annie stopped in her tracks. Britta is not the type for a sudden change of heart, but the pain in her voice spoke for itself. She waited for her to continue.  
“If I tell you _why_ I don’t talk to my parents, will you please leave me alone?”  
Annie didn’t respond.  
“Fine, well, I’ll tell you anyway. And then you can decide whether to respect me or not, okay? Just, give me a chance.”  
Annie agreed. Britta opened the door and let her inside. Once the two had situated themselves on the bed, Britta began. “My parents and I always kind of butted heads. As long as I can remember, we disagreed on everything. Mostly because I was a brash kid from the beginning, and I wasn’t really into all the,” She gestured at Annie’s room decorations, “you know, girly stuff.”  
Annie rolled her eyes, but kept listening.  
“Anyways, they noticed I wasn’t wearing pink everyday and freaked out about it. They smothered me with frilly dresses and teen magazines. They threw it all at me, waiting for me to catch on, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. It wasn’t who I was.”  
“And that sucks, Britta, but I don’t understand, everybody—“  
“Then they caught me kissing a girl.”  
Annie froze. Britta looked up and smiled sarcastically. “Ta-Da. The secret’s out.”  
“Oh, Britta, I had no—“  
“It’s whatever. I guess it had to come out at one point. Anyways, they flipped their shit and put me in lockdown mode. I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t have any contact outside the house, I couldn’t even talk to my classmates in school.” She sighed. “None of that mattered as much back then. Being kept from your friends isn’t such a big deal when you have no friends. What really did hurt, though, is what they would say behind my back.” Britta’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she fought back the cracks in her voice. “My own parents called me sick and twisted. They called me a disappointment, Annie. They told me if I continued this “lifestyle,” that,” she swallowed, “that I could no longer be their daughter.”  
Britta stared at the ground for a minute before continuing. “I was so young. I couldn’t comprehend the fact that they _didn’t_ know what was best for me. I was desperate to fix myself. I wanted so badly to be “normal.” I _hated_ myself.”  
Britta looked up at Annie, pain in her eyes. “I don’t know what kind of people they are now, but they messed up. A lot. I can’t forgive that.”  
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”  
“Are you kidding?” Britta scoffed, “And give the group more reasons to treat me like a living joke??”  
Annie pauses for a minute. “Is that really what you thought would happen if you…”  
Britta didn’t answer. She just looked at the ground. She didn’t dare look Annie in the eyes for fear of seeing the hatred and fear she had seen in her Mother all those years ago. This was different. She had no idea what she would do if she lost _Annie’s_ respect. It was scarier.  
Annie touched her gently. Britta finally tore her eyes off the ground. When she did, she saw that Annie was crying.  
“Britta,” Her voice shook. “I am so incredibly sorry. I never even thought of how it would affect you emotionally. I thought I was doing something good, when I was just wrapped up in how good it felt to have parents that cared again. Even if they weren’t mine.” She looked Britta in the eyes, making sure she was listening. “And I really, genuinely want you to know that there is nothing wrong with you. You are beautiful, kind, and strong-willed. You’re our Britta. And nothing can change that.”  
Britta immediately burst into tears and fell into her friend’s arms.  
“I was so scared… I was so scared I’d lose you, Annie. I don’t know what I would even do, how I would LIVE with myself…”  
Annie held her tightly and let the world melt away as she comforted her friend.  
“You’re not getting rid of me that easy,” she smiled.  
Britta suddenly broke the hug and sat up straight. “What about the rest of the group? You won’t… _tell them_ … will you?”  
“Of course not, that’s your choice. I would never take that away from you.”  
“I’m so glad I can finally talk to you about this. It’s been so lonely keeping this a secret.” She paused, “Annie, I’m sorry I called you a bad friend. You had no idea, and you just wanted what was best for me. It was pretty shitty of me to freak out like that.”  
“Please, you shouldn’t have to apologize. Even if I didn’t know what they did, I still went beside your back, and that was wrong of me. I’m really sorry.”  
“Guess we’re both pretty shitty then,” Britta laughed.  
Annie scoffed playfully and shoved her lightly.  
“No, you’re the best. I mean it.” The two embraced once more. 

———————

At that moment, Annie almost came out. Almost. She wanted to tell Britta how overjoyed she was that she had finally met someone with similar experiences, or how nice it felt to just, not be alone. But she didn’t. Instead, she just let Britta vent and rant to her heart's content, until she had talked herself to sleep on Annie’s soft bed. She had let Britta bask in the one moment of clarity and relief in her muddled life. _She hates so much about herself,_ Annie thought to herself while she snuck in the covers, careful not to wake her friend. _The least I can do is make her feel special._ Annie looked at the blonde sprawled out on the bed next to her and started to think. She thought about her smile, and how it was usually fleeting, but always, always genuine. She thought about how sharp, yet soft her eyes were, and how they could burn a hole in an enemy, while still beating her soul to a friend. She thought about her soft touch, and her beautiful curls, and her undying passion for others. She had enough butterflies in her stomach to fill a whole forest. She took a deep breath to calm herself and started to drift off. _And loved,_ She added, _I can make her feel loved._

————————

A week later, the two returned the couch to the store it came from. Annie smiled to herself. They wouldn’t need it anymore.


End file.
